Poll says Afghanistan 'most dangerous' for women

Afghanistan is the most dangerous country for women, an international poll of experts on gender issues says.

High levels of violence, poor healthcare and poverty make Afghanistan the worst place for women, the study by the Thomson-Reuters Foundation says.

The survey places the Democratic Republic of Congo and Pakistan in second and third positions.

India is rated the fourth most dangerous country due to high levels of female foeticide and sex trafficking.

Somalia ranked fifth in the survey.

'Hidden dangers'

"Ongoing conflict, Nato airstrikes and cultural practices combined make Afghanistan a very dangerous place for women," said Antonella Notari, head of Women Change Makers, a group that supports women social entrepreneurs around the world.

"In addition, women who do attempt to speak out or take on public roles that challenge ingrained gender stereotypes of what is acceptable for women to do or not, such as working as policewomen or news broadcasters, are often intimidated or killed," she added.

The poll asked 213 experts from five continents to rank countries on issues like overall perception of danger, access to healthcare, violence, cultural discrimination and human trafficking.

"This survey shows that 'hidden dangers' like a lack of education or terrible access to healthcare are as deadly, if not more so, than physical dangers like rape and murder which usually grab the headlines," Monique Villa, chief executive of Thomson-Reuters Foundation, said.

Pakistan was included in the list for having "some of the highest rates of dowry murder, so-called honour killings and early marriages".

India ranked fourth primarily due to female foeticide, infanticide and human trafficking, the report said.

A BBC correspondent in Delhi says India's inclusion among the worst five countries in the world is bound to raise eyebrows here.

The report quotes some experts as saying that "the world's largest democracy was relatively forthcoming about describing its problems, possibly casting it in a darker light than if other countries were equally transparent about trafficking".

Sudan: Barack Obama calls for ceasefire

US President Barack Obama has called for a ceasefire in Sudan, following an upsurge in fighting in the South Kordofan region.

He urged both the north and south to "live up to their responsibilities" to prevent a return to civil war.

Thousands of people have been displaced in recent days of violence, which comes only weeks before South Sudan becomes independent.

Meanwhile, the UN has accused Sudan of hampering aid efforts.

Roadblocks manned by militia are preventing aid reaching thousands of people in need, the UN's refugee agency said.

The agency said it had appealed to the Sudanese government to allow planes to land at the main airport in the affected area, in Kadugli.

'Another Darfur'

Khartoum carried out what the UN described as an "intensive bombing campaign" near the border on Tuesday.

Northern forces are accused of targeting the area's pro-southern groups, as oil-rich South Sudan prepares for independence next month.

"There is no military solution; the leaders of Sudan and South Sudan must live up to the responsibilities," Mr Obama said in a recorded audio message.

"The government of Sudan must prevent a further escalation of this crisis by ceasing its military actions immediately, including aerial bombardments, forced displacements and campaigns of intimidation," he added.

Meanwhile, the head of the worldwide Anglican church, Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, said the unrest was a major threat to the stability of Sudan.

"The humanitarian challenge is already great, and the risk of another Darfur situation, with civilian populations at the mercy of government-supported terror, is a real one," the archbishop said, according to AFP news agency.

The bombing in South Kordofan follows a deal for both sides to withdraw from the nearby disputed town of Abyei.

Clashes over the past month in Abyei and South Kordofan have raised fears of renewed north-south conflict despite a 2005 peace deal which paved the way for the end of decades of war.

Some 40,000 people are estimated to have fled their homes in South Kordofan, on top of some 100,000 in Abyei, which was seized by northern forces last month.

Aid agency offices have been looted, churches have been ransacked and buildings destroyed.

Talks between Sudanese government officials and representatives of the south are continuing following Monday's deal for both sides to withdraw from Abyei.

President Omar al-Bashir and southern leader Salva Kiir agreed that Abyei, claimed by both sides, would be demilitarised, with Ethiopian troops ensuring security.

No time frame has been published.

The north-south war ended with a 2005 peace deal, under which the mainly Christian and animist south held a referendum in January on whether to secede from the largely Arabic-speaking, Muslim north.

Some 99% of voters opted for independence. President Bashir said he would accept the verdict of the south, where most of Sudan's oil fields lie.

Prestatyn man, 73, in court charged with wife's murder

A 73-year-old man will appear before magistrates later charged with murdering his wife, whose body was found at their Denbighshire home.

Keith Rumbold was arrested at their bungalow in Prestatyn on Thursday, the day Shirley Rumbold was found.

The 74-year-old is believed to have been strangled.

The family said: "Shirley had suffered from Alzheimer's for several years and the family would appreciate privacy at this sad and difficult time."

Mr Rumbold is due to appear before Prestatyn magistrates after being charged late on Saturday night.

The bungalow was cordoned off after officers were called to the property at about 1350 BST on Thursday.

An inquest has been opened by acting coroner John Gittins and a post-mortem examination was carried out by Home Office pathologist Dr Brian Rodgers.

The examination on Mrs Rumbold is understood to have revealed the provisional cause of death as asphyxiation caused by strangulation.

IMF hit by 'very major' cyber security attack

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) says it has been targeted by a sophisticated cyber attack.

Officials at the fund gave few details but said the attack earlier this year had been "a very major breach" of its systems, the New York Times reports.

Cyber security officials said the hack was designed to install software to create a "digital insider presence".

The IMF, which holds sensitive economic data about many countries, said its operations were fully functional.

The cyber attack took place over several months, and happened before former IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn was arrested over sexual assault charges.

"I can confirm that we are investigating an incident," said spokesman David Hawley.

"I am not in a position to elaborate further on the extent of the cyber security incident."

The New York Times said IMF staff had been told of the intrusion on Wednesday by e-mail, but that the Fund had not made a public announcement.

Continue reading the main story

Analysis

Rory Cellan-Jones Technology correspondent, BBC News

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The IMF is saying very little, beyond confirming that an incident has taken place, but on the face of it this looks like a serious attack on computer systems holding some very sensitive data.

The fact that the FBI has been called in, and that the neighbouring World Bank has severed its computer link to the IMF, show that it is being taken seriously.

An internal memo suggests that one particular desktop has been compromised - and security experts are speculating that an individual has been targeted with an email containing malware.

That could have enabled the attacker to gain access to the IMF's systems. What is not clear is whether any data was lost.

For an organisation already in crisis as it looks for a successor to Dominique Strauss-Kahn, the cyber-attack is yet another challenge. The IMF's members will be urgently seeking assurance that their data is secure and that the fund's defences are in good order.

The e-mail warned that "suspicious file transfers" had been detected and that an investigation had shown a desktop at the Fund had been "compromised and used to access some Fund systems".

There was "no reason to believe that any personal information was sought for fraud purposes," it said.

High profile breaches

A cyber security expert told Reuters the infiltration had been a targeted attack which installed software designed to give a nation state a "digital insider presence" at the IMF.

"The code was developed and released for this purpose," said Tom Kellerman, who has worked for the Fund.

Bloomberg quoted an unnamed security expert as saying the hackers were connected to a foreign government. However, such attacks are very difficult to trace.

The World Bank said it briefly cut its network connection with the Fund out "an abundance of caution".

"The World Bank Group, like any other large organisation, is increasingly aware of potential threats to the security of our information system and we are constantly working to improve our defences," said spokesman Rich Mills.

The incident is the latest in a string of high-profile cyber security breaches.

In April, the Sony Playstation network was shut down after hackers stole the personal data of about 100 million accounts and in May, US defence firm Lockheed Martin said it had come under a significant cyber-attack.

CIA Director Leon Panetta told the US Congress earlier this week that a large-scale cyber attack which would cripple power, finance, security and governmental systems was "a real possibility in today's world".

Philippines man crowned world's shortest

A teenager from a poor family in the rural Philippines has been declared the world's shortest man as he turned 18.

Guinness World Records presented Junrey Balawing, who is 59.93cm (23.6 inches) tall, with a certificate at his birthday party.

Mr Balawing stopped growing when he was two, his father said.

He is more than 7cm shorter than the previous record holder, Khagendra Thapa Magar from Nepal, who had held the record since last October.

Relatives say he has difficulty standing and walking, but the community was protective of him.

"Officially he is the world's shortest man," declared Guinness World Records official Craig Glenday in front of cheering relatives and friends at his birthday party in the rural town of Sindangan on Mindanao island in the southern Philippines.

Well-wishers, including politicians, presented him with cash gifts which his family said would add to their meagre savings, AFP news agency reported.

"Thank you to all of you for supporting my son, the world's shortest man," Mr Balawing's father said.

Mr Balawing blew out a candle on his birthday cake and said "I'm tired".

His father said he had been a sickly child and doctors had not been able to say why he stopped growing.

His three siblings are all of normal size.

Libya rebels 'smuggling weapons through Tunisia'

Libyan rebels are smuggling weapons through Tunisia to fight Colonel Muammar Gaddafi's forces in western Libya, the BBC has learned.

One Libyan smuggler told the BBC that AK47s and grenade launchers are being taken across the border by individuals, in small but frequent consignments.

Gaddafi forces are on the Tunisian border, and shelling often spills over.

The fledgling Tunisian government is fearful of giving overt support to the rebels.

Tunisian border guards are under orders to search each car going in to Libya.

But members of the Libyan diaspora are funding the purchase of small arms to send to western Libya, said the Libyan smuggler, who agreed to speak on condition of anonymity.

He said that many Tunisians are sympathetic and help get the arms in to the rebels.

A rebel commander in western Libya said his forces kept a record of each fighter and the serial number of their weapons, so they could be collected when the war was over.

Commander Ahbeel Dody appealed for Nato countries to send more and heavier weapons through Tunisia officially.

He said a shortage in the Nafousa mountains, where towns have gained ground in frequent clashes with Col Gaddafi's forces, was prolonging the war.

Man stabbed to death for £12 on birthday in Fulham

Krzysztof Rusek had worked as a chef at the Ibis hotel in Lillie रोड

A man has been stabbed to death on his birthday in west London by robbers who made off with £12.

Chef Krzysztof Rusek was in a park in Fulham, celebrating his 30th birthday early on Tuesday with his girlfriend and some other friends, when a group of people tried to rob them.

Police said the robbers then stabbed Mr Rusek. He was taken to hospital but later died there.

His friend was stabbed in the leg but was saved from injury by his wallet.

A Metropolitan Police spokesman said Mr Rusek, who lived in Willesden, north-west London, left his work at the Ibis hotel in Lillie Road with three male colleagues at around midnight and met up with his girlfriend.

The group brought some drinks and went to a quiet garden area, next to the Fulham Centre in Lillie Road, to celebrate his birthday. One of his friends then went home.

As the group of four sat in the garden four to five men entered the park area and tried to rob them and Mr Rusek was stabbed.

The spokesman said two of the robbers had the lower part of their faces covered and that just £12 in total had been taken.

Det Ch Insp Nick Scola said: "This is a tragic waste of a young life, especially as Krzysztof was out celebrating his 30th birthday at the time.

"What started out as good natured night out with his girlfriend and colleagues has ended horrifically for the sake of a small sum of money."

Mr Rusek, a Polish national, had lived in the UK for the past eight years.

A post-mortem examination was due to be carried out on Wednesday.